Desert in the Promised Land

by Yael Zerubavel

At once an ecological phenomenon and a cultural construction, the desert has varied associations within Zionist and Israeli culture. In the Judaic textual tradition, it evokes exile and punishment, yet is also a site for origin myths, the divine presence, and sanctity. Secular Zionism developed its own spin on the duality of the desert as the romantic site of Jews' biblical roots that inspired the Hebrew culture, and as the barren land outside the Jewish settlements in Palestine, featuring them as an oasis of order and technological progress within a symbolic desert. Yael Zerubavel tells the story of the desert from the early twentieth century to the present, shedding light on romantic-mythical associations, settlement and security concerns, environmental sympathies, and the commodifying tourist gaze. Drawing on literary narratives, educational texts, newspaper articles, tourist materials, films, popular songs, posters, photographs, and cartoons, Zerubavel reveals the complexities and contradictions that mark Israeli society's semiotics of space in relation to the Middle East, and the central role of the "besieged island" trope in Israeli culture and politics.

Genres: Environment, History

368 pages, Hardcover

Published December 25, 2018

Reviews

[Einav Kotzer]

ספר חשוב ומעניין על הישראליות והיחס למדבר

[Ebrahim Barzegar]

To start with, it is an academic book written primarily for scholars and researchers rather than general readers. Nevertheless, I would recommend it to everyone! Second, the book has a smooth and engaging narrative, mostly presenting historical and cultural events, followed by objective and unbiased explanations and analyses. Third, besides the well-organized and clearly defined sections in each chapter, the author provides a cross-disciplinary analysis of the desert, which I find truly amazing and enlightening.

Overall, I absolutely loved the book. It is well worth reading and incredibly inspiring!